Mobile to Represent Over One Quarter of U.S. Online Travel Market by 2015

U.S. travel market growth has slowed slightly this year, as the country's sluggish economic recovery takes its toll. Yet the staggering pace of mobile adoption continues unabated, with mobile travel bookings sustaining triple-digit growth in 2013. According to a new Phocuswright Global Edition report, U.S. Online Travel Overview Thirteenth Edition, mobile travel bookings will more than triple over the next two years, to reach $39.5 million by 2015.

"Mobile devices are quickly becoming an integral part of the travel lifecycle, essential tools for planning and managing trips," says Phocuswright research analyst Maggie Rauch. "But there is still much to be done to drive transactions via both tablets and smartphones. Every serious player in the online travel space is prioritizing mobile technology development and pushing hard to increase their share of mobile bookings."

Mobile travel bookings are projected to comprise over one quarter of the U.S. online travel market in 2015 – up from just 2% in 2011. Mobile will represent a compelling competitive battleground for suppliers and OTAs over the next two years, as U.S. travel market growth remains in the 4-5% range. Despite the maturity of the online channel, online growth will continue to outpace the overall travel market through 2015.

U.S. Online Travel Overview Thirteenth Edition is a comprehensive analysis of the U.S. travel industry, providing market sizing and growth forecasts through 2015. The report focuses on the U.S. online leisure/unmanaged business travel marketplace, highlighting marketing and distribution trends for all travel segments including air, hotel, car rental, vacation packaging, rail and cruise. It tracks distribution shifts among supplier websites and online travel agencies, as well as major offline channels. The report also features mobile market sizing and forecasts, providing rich insight into the growing influence of smartphones and tablets. This comprehensive research provides a detailed overview of travel distribution in the U.S., with analysis of trends in market share, technological innovation and consumer behavior.

Phocuswright has followed the evolution of online travel purchasing from its inception. U.S. Online Travel Overview Thirteenth Edition is the industry standard for sizing and forecasting, providing actionable insights into the U.S. travel market.

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